1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a performance test apparatus and, more particularly, to a performance test apparatus for testing performance of balls and an image taking device of the performance test apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ball performance test apparatuses can test the performance and quality of a ball or a ball hitting member such as a golf club, and the test results can be utilized as reference data for designing the ball or golf club to improve the competitiveness.
Conventional ball performance test apparatuses include cannon type and robotic arm type. In the cannon type, an air compressor produces high-pressure air to blow a ball out of a cannon, and the ball hits a target at high speed to carry out a fatigue test of the striking face of the ball. In the robotic arm type, a robotic arm holds a ball hitting member such as a club or a bat and simulates a swinging motion of a man to hit a ball such as a golf ball, a table tennis ball, or a baseball, so as to measure the functional parameters of the ball or the ball hitting member, such as ball speed, ball spin, and the swaying angle of the club head. In both types, an image taking device is utilized to pick up images during the test. The image taking device is generally a high-speed camera having a flash light utilizing a spot light source and taking 10,000 pictures per second, so that the continuous images of the ball flying at high speed can be obtained. However, the high-speed camera is expensive, leading to a limitation of use of the ball performance test machines of these two types that are now only utilized on special tests. Furthermore, the illumination effect of the spot light source projecting in the path of the flying ball is not even in brightness, adversely affecting the measuring data of the ball.
Thus, a need exits for an inexpensive ball performance apparatus that can obtain precise data for improving the ball and the ball hitting member.